Miller House

"The result is a materially tactile and rich patchwork of a house, a holisitically resolved dwelling that weaves together interior and exterior spaces, and old and new, alike." - Houses Magazine

The scattered and irregular gables of this Federation house, while absent from the contemporary extension, are suggestive of the casual arrangement of courtyards that now enliven the dwelling within. Much like these gables, variation in the scale and orientation of the new outdoor spaces lend a playful dynamism to the renovated house.

From the moment of entry, views shift and redirect between the courtyards, light-wells, decks and gardens. Natural light washes the internal space from all directions, encouraging exploration of the various living areas and retreats.

While loosely open-plan, each room is anchored and defined by its unique outlook. The courtyards extend the interior spaces, encouraging time spent outdoors as well as providing excellent solar access and passive ventilation. The ever-shifting light and views create a subtle labyrinthine quality, fluidly expanding the sense of spaciousness throughout the house.

A simple, robust material palate of sustainably sourced timbers, stone and recycled brick weaves its way throughout, visually connecting the indoor and outdoor areas. Much like the house opens and closes to its surrounds, materials are revealed and concealed, betraying the structural and spatial logic of the renovations.

At key moments, the white-washed walls are left unpainted to reveal their red-brick origins; timber rafters are exposed and then concealed again, marking the transition between living areas; timber screens temper light and shade, then stop short, opening up to sky and garden.

Hip & Gable

"Architecture Architecture have an amazing attention to detail, are very professional, dealt with any issues that arose, clearly communicated every step of the process and the end result has exceeded our expectations."- Michael & Nicole

Once was a time when a roof was a roof. Mostly it just sat up there to keep the rain off, but more importantly, it looked like a roof. A roof would hold itself in such a way, with its jaunty gables, casual hips and firm ridges, to let the world know that this house is a house. A noble task indeed. Yet, for the most part, a roof would do precious little to enliven the warren of rooms below.

With Hip & Gable, Architecture Architecture pays homage to a dignified, long-serving Californian Bungalow, while enticing it to say a little more and to do a little more too. We began by studying its ways: it’s darkened plinth, bricked chimney stacks, outlined fascias, ribbed gables and deep, bruised eyes. We emulated these ways, lending contemporary inflection to old charms. Yet it was the roof where things really got smart.

Indeed, the roof is still a roof. It rests over the house and it shelters its occupants. But where the ceilings were once low and flat, now they are generous and varied. A gentle underbelly has been revealed; it lifts and dips, shades and illuminates, shaping the many rooms and moods of the house.

From the backyard, a reclining hip casually slouches over the bedroom wing, while an attentive gable stands to attention over the more formal living spaces. Side by side, they are like the ears of a dog, one alert and the other playful, ready for whatever comes next.

The Kite

"Working with Architecture Architecture gave us access to creativity, ideas, knowledge and skills. The team delivered versatile, light and relaxed spaces that enhance the way we live." - Virginia & Edward

A stand of silver birches marks the place. Their trunks are white heat, tempered by pools of black. Everything here is light and shade. Taking cue from their slender friends, black downpipes score the white walls of the house, disappearing into the canopy above.

Approaching the threshold, the visitor is welcomed by pockets of shade nestled among protective brick walls. A large pivot window and a large pivot door throw themselves wide open, exposing the full throat of the house to the garden.

Inside and out, the roof rests like a canopy. Sky and foliage are ever-present. Light filters in from all sides marking the passage of a day, while overhead, triangles beget triangles, folding and multiplying against the sky like barely tethered kites.

Photography: Peter Bennetts

Dark Horse

"Architecture Architecture have created an oustanding house for us. The ingenious combination of spaces and materials perfectly reflect our personalities. Their attention to detail went well beyond our expectations, and the brilliant result is a testament to that effort." - Charles & Amy

In a row of workers’ cottages, there is one Dark Horse – a handsome creature. The stepped parapet, centred window, side-lined door and entrance awning are carried with the familiar, unassuming composure of the others. Yet here the materials, stark in their composition, have a distinctly 21st century character, hinting at the contemporary home within.

Indeed, the palette of black, white and grey is carried throughout the house, lending tonal variation and spatial depth to an otherwise diminutive site. The play of tones establishes a subtle field of spaces that expand and contract, creating moments of generosity and intimacy.

In the living areas, where space and light are abundant, the material palette is darker, creating spaces of comfortable repose. Here, sensitive use of acoustic treatment reinforces these qualities.

In the corridors where space is tighter, the palette lightens and the ceilings lift. The corridor walls - slim and prefabricated to maximise internal space – are lined with metal sheet to reflect light deep into the house.

In the heart of the house, the living areas open onto a courtyard. The high-ceilinged corridors pinwheel out from this heart, establishing a sunlit centre around which most daily activity occurs.

Upstairs, a warmer palette of timber floors and lining boards sets the tone for the private quarters, while dramatic skylights and generous windows cast this Dark Horse in abundant natural light.

Together Apart

“Our girls are so pumped. The outcome is testimony to Architecture Architecture’s determination to deliver the best possible outcome. They listened to what we all needed and wrapped it up in a beautiful installation that we are really proud to have in our home.”- Kate & Dave

Where once they shared a womb, now they share a room; twin girls needing their own space, yet wanting to stay close too.

In the middle of their bedroom stands a large timber pod, symmetrically equipped with desks, shelves, beds, pin boards, and a pair of storage slots for sleepover mattresses. The pod stands clear of the two windows and the two bedroom doors, ensuring the free movement of light, air and restless limbs; a ring of play space for turning tigers into butter.

Of course twins have differences too. One is more ordered, the other more chaotic. Where one has chosen fish for wallpaper, the other has a jungle theme. Naturally there are moments when such differences warrant time apart: two doors slide out, and the bedroom is divided. Should a treaty require negotiation or a whisper shared, desks and beds are equipped with porthole hatches, able to be spun open or quickly shut again.

Acknowledging all eventualities, the two halves of the pod are also able to undock, allowing the twins to one day colonise their very own rooms.

The Skin Job

“We really enjoyed the whole renovation experience! Architecture Architecture came up with a really creative concept which is so much more than we'd envisaged. Having their eagle eye during the build was fantastic – they ensured that the top-quality work we were looking for was delivered.”- Kate & Dave

‘I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. An off-form concrete fireplace on the shoulder of a window seat. I watched pergola beams glitter in the dark near the back gate. All those moments will be lost in time… like tears in rain.’

Taking the knife to a previous extension, an assemblage of generous openings, bench seats and a fireplace re-animate an otherwise ordinary red-brick façade. Slipped in-under an existing timber pergola, this new skin of fine black steel and off-form concrete bears the smile of family life.

‘A new life awaits you! A chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure! Wake-up, time to architecture!’

Tailored to the needs of a couple and their three girls, the new façade steps in and out, providing subtle structure to the existing living areas: nooks for quiet play and reading together; a servery for outdoor entertaining; a favourite seat for afternoon snacks; and a generous threshold for tearing in-and-out between the house and yard.

Turnaround House

"Architecture Architecture's ability to help us through the design, planning and construction process, while realising our design brief and budget, made what we thought would be a stressful process really exciting!" - James & Ash

Against the odds, this modest extension has turned a dark, cramped residence with little backyard to spare, into a light-filled house with fantastic indoor and outdoor entertaining areas.

The existing house was south-facing, casting itself into shadow, with unsightly neighbouring buildings imposing on all sides. By creating a U-shaped extension along the property boundaries, Architecture Architecture has turned everything around. Now the house enjoys a generous private courtyard, with sunlight throughout the year.

From the outside, the steep, raked roof deftly negotiates planning regulations, allowing for generous ceilings and high-level clerestory louvres. In stark contrast with these windows, an unapologetic blank brick wall hovers over the courtyard, boldly declaring a distinction between the two sides of the living areas within. One side, more intimate, opens up to the courtyard, the other, with views to the passing clouds, admits northern sunlight in the wintertime.

Along both sides of the courtyard, a pair of long bench seats soften the threshold between indoors and out. One serves the living areas, the other serves the courtyard. At the back of each bench, bi-fold windows draw back, allowing the house to throw itself open to the outdoors or to close-off – adapting as required.

The material palette further assists in relaxing the otherwise clear geometries of this house. Exposed recycled brick (an echo of Abbotsford’s industrial heritage) and white timber boards (a staple of the modest residential extension), subtly breach the delineation of indoors and outdoors, weaving the two together.

The optimised solar orientation along with the use of brick walls and a dark concrete slab for thermal mass ensure that this is a high-comfort, low-energy house all year round, ideal for entertaining. A true turnaround.

Fifty Fifty

“Working with Architecture Architecture was a great experience. We’re still discovering angles and views in our house that surprise and delight. The result is fantastic!” - Joe & Louise

This Murrumbeena extension is partly inspired by its original 1950s suburban home and partly by the modernist Case Study houses of the same decade. 1950s meets 1950s. About half of each. We’re talking fifty-fifty vision. That’s sharp.

The original house is in good condition, has great charm, and is characteristic of the area: it’s fully detached, has a gabled slate roof, red brick walls, white fenestration and features stepped corbel details. Extending to the side and to the rear of the house, it was decided to retain as much of the original as possible and to honour its virtues with a contemporary interpretation.

The side extension, visible from the street, somewhat mirrors the original house. For clarity, the mirror line is marked by a vertical zip of projecting white bricks. Either side of this line is the chimney, in true facsimile. Thereafter things get distorted as the stepped corbel brickwork is magnified through the architectural looking glass.

To the rear, the extension appears as a neutral field of white blade walls supporting a thin, flat roof. The original roofline remains visible and the red brick house is merely veiled, appearing almost as if untouched. These new white walls create deep, shady thresholds for outdoor seating, dining and reclining, while concealing new bedrooms and new living quarters in their protective shade.

The Portal

"Architecture Architecture took any ideas we had to the next level – making the final product more than we could have hoped for. The whole process from concept design to finished product was amazingly seamless and really enjoyable. Thank you Architecture Architecture!" - Natalie & Grant

Some backyards are like unchartered galaxies, stretching into realms of verdant uncertainty. Beyond the fringes of domesticity, abandoned toys and home maintenance projects lay strewn among the wild grass like the vestiges of a forgotten voyage.

Our mission, as assigned, was to bring measure to the immeasurable and tame a dimensionless beast. From within the shadowy confines of a charming Californian Bungalow, we sent a probe, dark and slender, out into the wilds; a portal into new territories. What we discovered, is new life.

Like fungal blooms, white and pink, sun-drenched living spaces burst from the portal’s shaft, carving the immense backyard into manageable courtyards and play-yards, containing the previously uncontainable and tying these realms back to the certainty of home. Within, unadorned materials of earth and timber belie their lofty ambitions, remaining simple and grounded.

And yet, beyond the home and its extensions, a remnant of uncertainty still exists: the somewhat truncated, yet largely unmonitored backyard, where childhood terrors and fantasies continue to play-out.

The Purple Rose of Cairo

"Architecture Architecture’s fitout pays its deep respect to the ingenuity of Overend’s original work, while making subtle updates to improve functionality and flexibility." – Assemble Papers

"Simple, qualitative resolution of each detail has optimised the ongoing liveability of the flat." – Robin Boyd Foundation

Architecture Architecture have completed a fit-out of one of the Cairo Studio Apartments – an exercise in creating a fully functional abode within a mere 24m2.

Set within lush green communal gardens, the art deco Cairo Apartments are a landmark in Melbourne’s architectural heritage. Designed by Best Overend and completed in 1936, they were (and remain) an exercise in minimal living.

In a studio apartment of such modest dimension, the smallest modifications make a significant difference to the feel and functionality of the space.

Compact robes and clever storage solutions are integrated with a fold-out bed and a handsome full-height curtain, creating the flexibility to quickly convert the single-room space from a study to a bedroom to a dining room to a party space to a media room.

A door has also been moved and a kitchen servery window has been opened-up, reactivating the forgotten entry area, maintaining a strong visual connection from the kitchen to the garden, improving natural light and ventilation and creating greater flexibility in the layout of the apartment.

Embracing the philosophy of making more with less, Architecture Architecture have created a simple space with maximum flexibility to address contemporary living needs within a minimum floor area.

In an era when people are increasingly opting to live in cities and our urban fringes are forever expanding outwards, Architecture Architecture understand the imperative to make more with less, opting for high quality flexible space rather than inflexible specialised spaces – quality over quantity.

Extension House

"Thanks to Architecture Architecture’s talent and efforts this has been a smooth process, and my family and I are exceedingly pleased with the end result... their vision is very assured. All elements of the design feel like they belong, no detail is out of place." - Maaike & Jan

This project extends, and thereby distorts, the Californian bungalow. While it may speak the same language, it does so with unfamiliar inflections.

So what’s changed? The roof remains the same simple A-frame it has always been, the side walls are exactly where we found them, and the floor, predictably, is still under foot. Only this same roof, these walls and that floor have all been stretched towards the backyard. Now stretched, new living areas have opened-up in the spaces between them: a kitchen, a dining room, a study and an outdoor deck.

The transition from Californian bungalow to contemporary addition is most apparent when comparing the front and rear facades – the latter, a contemporary distortion of the former. The original A-frame has been sliced at an angle to optimise orientation; the façade folded-in, affording shelter over the entry doors; the timber gable dropped over the windows like an eyelid, providing shade and shelter to the living spaces within.

Taking cue from the front façade, each of these gestures is captured in a charcoal outline: the square line of the deck’s plinth; the cranked line of the walls’ base; the diagonal line of the fascia above.

Internally, a diagonal axis connects the new with the old in a single sweep. Curved walls gently pinch the axis at its centre, while light fittings and a skylight punctuate the ends. This is the first in a series of elongated, diagonal relationships which enhance the impression of spaciousness, both within the house and out into the backyard.

Flanking this internal axis, incomplete walls slip between the rooms, acting to both define and to connect the primary and the secondary spaces. In this way, the kitchen and the study are like spatial eddies to the main living areas; connected, but to one side.

At the end of the axis, the ceiling lifts, exploiting the full height of the A-frame roof and revealing a beautifully crafted plywood vault. Here, the extension is angled towards the north-east, turning from the punishing western sun and creating a longer, diagonal view out into the garden. Timber battens drop-down over the glass to provide shading and custom-designed steel framed windows pivot open, making the window seat a perfect place to sit and enjoy the outlook.

Connecting the indoor and outdoor spaces, simple chain-wire netting – a nod to humble suburban fences and cricket-nets – will provide excellent seasonal shade once the grape vines have matured, softening the exact geometries of this Extension House.

A Rose by Another

In the grounds of Melbourne’s famed Cairo apartments, a crop of wild roses are taking seed. The first was an unlikely shade of purple. The latest is a rose by another hue, and just as sweet.

Like its predecessor, A Rose by Another combines adaptable and fold-down elements to allow the space to transform from bedroom, to dining room, to lounge, to media room, creating flexibility and enhancing the sense of spaciousness.

Above the bed, a cupboard door swings down with projector affixed, delivering it to just the right location and at just the right height. Similarly, a timber table with a white aluminium surface folds out of the wall, its elegant hairpin leg slotting into the floor to hold it steady.

The bed itself, finished in Victorian Ash, folds away to reveal a simple white shelf and a plush sofa upholstered in fine Italian wool.Each of these elements is seamlessly integrated into a wall of joinery, designed to complement both the material palette and the proportions of this heritage listed apartment.

As with its predecessor and completing the composition, a full height curtain opens and closes with the mood of the day; this time a fragrant green. Breathe it in.

The Stanhill Apartment

The Stanhill is a landmark post-war apartment building designed by the celebrated modernist Frederick Romberg. The apartments are characterised by open, cellular planning with abundant natural light entering from two or three sides of each dwelling. The brief for Architecture Architecture was to design an entirely new fitout on a very lean budget and with a minimalist aesthetic.

Beyond providing comfortable amenity for the new tenants, the design introduces a single black band that runs throughout the apartment. Comprised of joinery, door frames, kitchen thresholds and skirting boards, its purpose is to draw attention to the masterfully fluid spatial planning as designed by the original architect.

At key moments in the design, the otherwise mute black and white aesthetic breaks in a flourish of barely perceptible colour, imbuing the apartment with a sense of quiet mystery.

AA-HQ

By ‘lively’ we mean diverse, unpredictable and vital. This is where we work – down the lively end of Brunswick Street. You’ll find us beavering away behind the tall glass windows of a beautifully restored 1870’s shopfront, floating in a sea of sketches, among stacks of books and material samples.

The interior palette is light and simple, with modest flourishes of detail where bookshelves terminate and cupboard doors open. 4m high windows look out onto the eucalypts of Atherton Gardens and flood the space with abundant natural light. A minor jungle of indoor plants ensures the air is ever sweet and doors at each end of the space provide a cooling breeze for those balmy summer days.

In short, this is a workplace that continues to remind us that well-designed spaces make a difference. Pop in and say hello sometime. Or if you’d like, take a seat and peruse our collection of architecture and design books. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to engage an architect. I’m sure we could find someone to help you out.

A Garden Curiosity

It’s a piece of garden joinery, designed to weather and age. Eventually the steel will shift from oily black to rusty orange, the timber from warmer yellows to a weathered grey - the slow seasons of a decade or two. Like everything in a garden, its impermanence reveals the passage of time.

Photography: Architecture Architecture

White Rabbit, White Rabbit

This art installation was included as part of the ‘Ghost Town’ exhibition, held at Platform Contemporary Art Space in February 2013. The work was created in collaboration with photographer Tom Ross of Brilliant Creek and reflects Architecture Architecture’s interest in themes of uncanny perception and the strangeness of the everyday.

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” - Lewis Carrol

A white, empty display cabinet contains a virtual reproduction of the same white, empty display cabinet just out of reach. An alternate reality so close to our own, beyond the looking glass.

Caught within, a white rabbit jumps from side to side, impatient for us to follow...

Among Buildings encourages readers to imagine afresh the buildings around us. Michael’s poetry operates between the physical and imaginative realms, drawing upon aspects of place, myth, history, personal experience, description and narrative. Tom’s photography, though anchored to the physical nature of the buildings, is nevertheless very human, suggesting private experiences in often very public places. Stuart’s design completes the collaboration, drawing the poetry and photography together in a format that encourages exploration and discovery, analogous to the experience of walking through a city with eyes wide open.

The Drift

What is a weed? A weed is just an idea attempting to grow where it oughtn’t – Unknown

The following was our competition entry for a garden pavilion at the National Gallery of Victoria, developed in collaboration with Bush Projects:

Introduction

We’re not who we used to be. We live in an age of the flash mob and the crowd source, splayed attention spans and decentralised social networks. Political, corporate and cultural institutions are losing their once firm hold on the collective narrative. The people are finding their own voice. These important and historic social changes are yet to find full expression in the public realm.

As a place for the exchange of ideas, the traditional garden pavilion is anachronistic. The Drift proposes that there is no audience, only participants. There is no object, and there is no center. Instead a field of scattered Seeds, wired for networked discussion, where ideas may blow-in from any corner of the garden.

The Seeds

Our proposal is comprised of a field of Seeds, each providing opportunities for play, shade, connection and retreat. The Seeds themselves resemble those of a Dandelion, a scattering of light twirling helicopters caught in suspended animation over the landscape.

At the base of each Seed is seat, able to be rotated about the stem, allowing visitors to catch sun or shade, find a favourable vantage point, or simply to be spun for spun’s sake. Once seated, integrated microphones and speakers allow visitors to participate in networked discussion. If conditions are hot, visitors may choose to modify their micro-climate by activating mist atomisers, or by adjusting The Seed’s canopy like an umbrella.

Most importantly The Seeds engender play. Tall canopies, low canopies, spinning seats, mist atomisers and adjustable shade structures encourage exploration and participation by adults and children alike, priming them for engagement in The Field.

The Field

The Field is both a physical and a virtual construct. Physically, it is the scattering of Seeds without center or focal point. Virtually, it is the network of communication lines supporting open discussion. Traditional notions of speaker and audience are abandoned in favour of a decentralised structure.

Public talks are organised as normal, however guest speakers are located in The Field along with everyone else. At any time, visitors may choose to depress their microphone button and interject. If many people are speaking, many will be heard, building an organic, dangerous, and more vital crowd dynamic.

The Field is a hybrid condition, locating visitors somewhere between the anonymity of the virtual world and the accountability of the physical world. Visitors will be challenged to engage in a new form of social negotiation, where notions of liberty and respect go head to head.

The Drift

When seeds blow across a field, they drift. Indeed, everything here is in drift. People, ideas, pollen, conversation, insects, mist, thoughts, butterflies and power. The entire social ecology is live, open, organic and adaptable. Everything comes from somewhere and nothing finishes here.

The undulating grounds, composed of soils and seeds, will not be maintained. Dandelions and other wild grasses will quickly take root, and with them, the great cross-pollinators: the butterflies, insects and other fauna. There will be no paths through the unkempt, wilding grasses. Goat tracks will emerge between the mounds and around The Seeds. People will find their own ways in, bringing with them their knowledge and questions; and they will drift their own ways out again, to share their ideas with a changing world.

Sandy Point

A new beach house at Sandy Point. Nestled into the dunes, four pavilions provide shade and shelter, while an array of sprawling decks encourage time spent outdoors among friends and family.

Campfire

An idea for a beach house, more like a sheltered campsite than a home. One big sprawling room, with nooks for sleeping and reading, animated by the opening and closing of curtains through the course of the day. A holiday from city life and a chance to get to know the family.

Silk Lane

Under the dual pressures of a growing population and environmental imperatives, the Australian suburb is faced with the challenge of densification while simultaneously maintaining a desirable quality of life.

The Silk Lane project demonstrates how land occupied by brick sheds and lean-to’s can be redeveloped into higher density suburbs fronting onto activated urban lanes.

The project occupies an unusual position in the urban landscape. Situated on a narrow lot to the rear of an existing house, this two bedroom residence overlooks the Broadmeadows railway line which passes just metres from the site boundary. It represents the kind of tough environments typical of the laneway, calling for a robust architectural response.

In response, we have recycled brick from the existing garage, tying it into the history of its setting, and paired it with modest white weatherboards that speak of the suburban context.

Spatially, the project fosters social engagement: a bedroom can be retrofitted as a garage, home-office or shopfront; the yard is unfenced, offering recreation space to adjacent laneway residences. Furthermore, the brick, which speaks of civic buildings and public spaces, visibly extends to the dwelling’s interior, subtly connecting public and private realms to build a lively and robust sense of community.

As an exercise in urban infill, this project strives to achieve both social and environmental sustainability objectives, with considerable consideration going into its impact on the local community, as well as carefully designing for good solar orientation and passive ventilation.

The Landing Pad

Tree House

A cubby house, designed and animated by work experience student Sharon Guan (Academy of Mary Immaculate) - September 2016